Central Banks
BoE Court recommends forecasting rethink
Review of forecasting sheds light on strengths and weaknesses of central bank’s approach; recommends more systematic performance evaluation and new modelling techniques
Albania cuts rates as renovations to HQ completed
The Bank of Albania cut its policy rate to a record low of 1.75%; chair of Single Resolution Board visits as non-performing loans fall to approximately 20% of total in banking sector
RBA deputy disappointed by data inaccuracies
Philip Lowe discusses two problems that have emerged in reporting of loans in housing market, stressing value of high-quality data
Asset purchases having ‘sizeable’ impact on prices in eurozone, ECB paper finds
Working paper says ostensibly puzzling result can be explained by low levels of ‘market distress’ weakening some transmission channels but bolstering others
Personal integrity key in battle for better culture, Lagarde says
IMF head calls for action to rebuild trust in the financial industry at the New York Fed conference; Fischer says it is impossible to improve the culture and then ‘retire from the battlefield’
EBA unveils plans for 2016 stress tests
European Banking Authority publishes draft guidelines for stress-testing systemically important banks; some 53 banks will be tested from February 2016
Fischer defends Fed independence
Attempts to make the FOMC adopt a policy rule and 'audit’ its decisions would restrict the Fed’s independence without generating much benefit, Stanley Fischer argues
Rising mortgage rates do not demand policy response, says RBA’s Stevens
Recent increases in mortgage rates have reversed some of the central bank’s easing, but there is no need to lean against the movement at present, governor says
CFTC’s aim is 'not just' to expand clearing, Massad says
The agency will not 'mandate a lot of products just to increase clearing'
Improved inflation outlook gives Icelandic central bank room for manoeuvre
Shallower path for near-term inflation allows central bank to make smaller rate hike than planned, but the longer-term picture still shows inflation overshooting the target
Hungarian central bank mulls lower capital requirements for SME-friendly banks
Central bank looks to incentivise lending to small businesses; risk-absorbing swaps and 'preferential' deposit facility could be supplemented by lower requirements
Yellen would ‘welcome’ vice-chair of supervision
Fed chair says an appointment to the long-vacant post would be welcome, but stresses the ‘outstanding job’ board member Tarullo has done leading work in the area
Europe would benefit from more centralised macro-prudential tools, says ECB vice-president
Macro-prudential regulation of housing sector successful in UK, and the SSM should be in a position to set similar policy in the eurozone, Constâncio says
FSB finds fault with derivatives trade reporting
Despite large volumes of trades being reported, some authorities have restricted access to data, which is often low quality; some jurisdictions are experimenting with new analysis
Eurozone macro-prudential policy should be ‘streamlined’, says Belgian director
Mathias Dewatripont praises shared responsibility as a ‘clever idea’ at ECB forum, but acknowledges this ‘leads to some complex procedures’
Caruana favours flexible supervisory tools over constant regulatory reform
BIS head stresses the value of making flexible supervisory tools available on top of regulation to help keep up with financial market innovations
Ireland: Former financial stability chief and ex-governor clash over crisis
John Hurley firmly rejects an accusation from the former financial stability head of the Irish central bank that senior management suppressed research in the lead-up to the crisis
Bank of Israel unveils plans for better credit data gathering
Registry designed to improve both credit provision and financial stability; deputy governor says central bank has learnt from others while tackling what has been a major project
FSB finalises elements of global bank resolution framework
The raft of documents includes final principles for effective cross-border resolution actions; latest list of globally systemic banks also published
Inflation outcomes should not be sole criteria for judging performance, says RBNZ's McDermott
Assistant governor's comments come after policy reversal by RBNZ amid falling global commodity prices; staff article emphasises 'ex-ante' evaluation of monetary policy decisions
Research assesses South Africa’s vulnerability to Fed hike
Countries with large ratios of external financing needs to foreign exchange could be more vulnerable to Fed rate hikes, working paper finds
People: Finland names new head of statistics; RBI appoints executive director
Bank of Finland promotes head of macro-prudential analysis division to head of financial stability and statistics department; RBI gets new executive director; and more